


A Life to Start Living

by borrowthemoonlight



Category: The Holiday (2006)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27999255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/borrowthemoonlight/pseuds/borrowthemoonlight
Summary: Amanda Woods is proud to present: her life. She has it all. The job. The house. The guy. The comphet. Iris can relate to that last part.The Holiday but with no men and a sprinkle of You've Got Mail vibes. Kinda.
Relationships: Iris Simpkins/Amanda Woods
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i don't know what this is!!! but i hope you enjoy it anyway!!!!

Amanda Woods is proud to present: her life. She has it all. The job, the house, the guy.

Well. _Had_ the guy. Thank God he’s out of the picture now. But there’s one thing Amanda doesn’t have. Or, rather, one secret she does have. Although, is it a secret? Really? The fact that she might be gay hadn’t even occurred to her until now. After a lot of reflecting the night after she chucked Ethan out, and the very long plane journey, during which she had tried to sleep, but not even sleeping pills could help her escape these thoughts.

It really does all add up.

 _Huh_.

The only weird thing here, really, is how long it’s taken her to realise. The way she’s never had feelings for any of her boyfriends, not even Ethan. The way she never felt inclined to sleep with them. Or talk to them at all, actually. Not about _real_ stuff. She just thought all of that was normal. It felt normal at the time. Or did she just immerse herself in her work so much that she didn’t have time to notice?

Being here in England all seems sort of stupid now. She’s solved the problem she came here to solve. Though she didn’t know _this_ was the problem until she’d already booked the flight. And it has been nice talking this all out with Charlie, Iris’ dog.

Maybe she should just stay. Get to know herself a little, because, as it turns out, she has this whole new part of herself she’s never even met. And she’ll get to know Iris. Through her adorable house and all of the things in it. Yeah. This trip would still be good for her.

Iris is probably settled into Amanda’s house by now. Or still getting lost in it, Amanda thinks, as she realises just how small the cottage is compared to her home. Maybe she should call her. No. Would that be weird? They’d had a great conversation yesterday, after discussing their home exchange, and Amanda is curious to know how she’s liking L.A. so far. No. She’s only been there a day. Calling her so soon _would_ be weird. What might be even weirder is how strong the urge to do it anyway is.

Tomorrow. It’s getting late here anyway. She should try to sleep so she isn’t too jetlagged in the morning.

-

Iris had not anticipated this feeling. The feeling of absolute dread and terror. She’s travelled thousands of miles away from home, on her own, and has finally told Jasper to leave her alone.

What now?

Panic? Perhaps? 

It’s just. She never thought this day would come. She thought she would always have Jasper. Deep down she knew it was never going to work out for them, but that’s exactly why she kept pushing for it so badly. If there was hope, she wouldn’t have to face the truth. If there was hope, but nothing was actually happening between them, just phone calls and the occasional long lunch, Iris could handle that.

She sighs.

No. It was never going to carry on like that. Jasper’s engagement is actually a huge blessing in disguise, she knows that. But now to have to actually face the truth? That’s something she’s not sure she’s ready for.

But it’s been building up for months now, this feeling inside of her. Years, if she really thinks about it.

A lesbian.

That’s what she is.

Oh, God, there it is. There. She’s said it. Or, at least, thought it. Good enough.

And now she’s going to forget about it for two weeks, as she lounges by the pool. Eating, drinking, reading, napping. There’ll be no time to think about it.

If only that were true.

At least there’s no one else here. She can deal with it. Alone. This is a good thing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to the people who left kudos on the first chapter!! i'm glad i'm not the only person who loves this ship

Amanda did not get much sleep last night, how could she? With a million thoughts rushing through her mind all at once for hours on end, and the jetlag was definitely catching up to her. Maybe she’ll take Charlie out soon, get some fresh air and maybe see what this little town has to offer. But first, coffee.

Iris has a lot of books, Amanda has noticed, as she wanders around the cottage, coffee cup in hand. A lot. She’s already skimmed the bookcase in the living room, filled with all the old classics you could ever name, followed by the pile on the coffee table and now the pile on the bedside table, trying not to think about her own large stack of books that she’s brought along with her. Who is she kidding? The last time she read a book was in college.

She picks up the first book on the pile in the bedroom, _The Complete Works of Sappho._ Interesting. Then she continues down the pile, reading the backs of them all, _The Well of Loneliness, The Price of Salt_ and _Tipping the Velvet._

Hm.

 _Very_ interesting.

Could it just so happen to be that Iris is gay too?

She contemplates it for a little while. Iris lives in a cottage in the middle of nowhere, with only her dog for company. There’s hideous, but also sort of cute, knitwear in every drawer and, the most obvious, the books. This is definitely the home of a lady who likes ladies.

Maybe this is something Amanda could ask her about. Ask her what, exactly, she’s not sure. It’s just, she doesn’t know how to do this. How does one suddenly start being gay after spending 30 years obliviously in the closet? There must be so many things she doesn’t know, is there some sort of lesbian rule book that no one’s told her about? She makes a mental note to skim through the bookshelf again later.

The truth is, Amanda has no idea where to begin. But making a friend that understands her maybe even better than she understands herself in some ways, seems like a good place to start.

-

Iris wakes with a smile on her face. All her problems from yesterday suddenly not seeming so huge or important or scary. Especially not when lying in the biggest and possibly the most comfiest bed she’s ever slept in. And there’s a huge pool outside waiting for her.

Maybe she’ll give Amanda a call today, just to see how Charlie is doing and to make sure she’s settling in okay.

The house doesn’t give much away about Amanda’s personality, Iris thinks, as she wanders in and out of all the rooms, sipping her morning tea, still in her pyjamas. Everything is so organised and neat. In a different way to her own house. This one feels like a blank slate. Like it’s waiting for someone to breathe life into it. Nevertheless, it’s still gorgeous and there’s nowhere else Iris would rather be right now.

The closet is huge. And the items in it all look _very_ expensive. Iris almost doesn’t feel worthy of storing her clothes in here, but there was a small space free, and what else is a closet for? She doesn’t dwell too much on that question.

She’s soon down at the pool, in her swimsuit, with a book, ready to let all her problems be melted away by the warm California sun. She’s just turning the first page as her phone begins to ring.

It’s Amanda.

Getting a little bit flustered, although she’s not sure why, she answers it.

“Hello?”

“Hey! Iris?” Amanda asks, excitedly, but maybe it’s just the accent.

“Yes, Amanda, hi.” Iris says with a small giggle.

“I just wanted to check in, see if you’ve got the house all figured out okay?”

“Yes, I- I think I have.” She tells her, nodding, despite the fact that Amanda can’t actually see her and the fact that that might be a little bit of a lie.

“Okay, great, well, if you need to know how anything works, I’m just a phone call away.”

“Great, thank you. How are you? How’s Charlie?”

“Both Charlie and me are good, we’re getting along really well. We’re just out in the village right now, he’s showing me around.”

“Oh, good.” Iris says, smiling brightly, like she has been doing for the entire duration of the call so far. “Well, I hope you’re having a nice time, I know I certainly am.”

“Me too. I…” Amanda hesitates. “I really like it around here.”

Somehow Iris gets the feeling that is not what Amanda was going to say initially. But she decides not to question it.

“Well, any problems, let me know!”

“I will be sure to do that!” Amanda tells her.

“Alright. I’ll speak to you soon then, maybe?” Iris asks, hoping it’s true, that they will speak again soon.

“Yes, yes, for sure! It was great speaking to you!”

“You too! Alright, bye then.”

“Bye!”

Iris puts the phone down, a huge smile still on her face. How lovely. She almost didn’t want the call to end.

Maybe she will come up with a question about the house that she needs answering after all.


End file.
